File or folder clip



Dec. 26, 1950 G, MAYER 5T AL 2,535,502

FILE 0R FOLDER CLIP Filed April 15, 1948 Patented Dec. 26, 1950 UNITED STAT Es ,PATENT orricr R FOLDER :CLIP

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This invention relatesv to file or .folder clips, and particularly to the. type in which` a pair of clamping arms which are interconnected are made with a projecting tongue upon one which extendsv through an aperture in the `other to Ahold the arms clamped together.

The main object of our invention to pro.- ,videA a le or folder -clip which is of such rugged construction that itA will form. a Permanent. ias- -tening means upon a le or folder for firmly securing the documents slipped or .intredileed under either vclarilping arm thereof.

Another object is to provide a lje or folder clip of the character indicatedwhich `*mayl be cadmium plated or yparkerized to presenta smooth nish and form a permanent part of a case file.

Another object, again, is to have such a file or folder clip which is stamped from a single sheet of metal and folded at an intermediate narrow portion to result in a pair of substantially coextensive equal arms forpri-marilyseouring 'the clip on a file and clamping papers and documents frictionally against either Q1' both `sides of the file, the free ends of botharms. being bent slight,- ly outward to facilitate sliding the papersunder the arms on the file.

A further object is to. provide a clip ofthis type which is so simple in form and easy to manufacture as to encourage general adoption the public everywhere.

It is Alikewise an object to provide a clip which may be made in particularly large sizes capable of being permanently attached to a large file or folder and receiving a considerable number of papers and the like under each clamping arm thereof.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will appear in further detail as the specification proceeds.

In order to bring out the features of the invention comprehensively, the latter is illustrated on the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a, plan view of a sheet metal blank when stamped out to form the present clip and embodying the invention in a practical form;

Figure 2 is a front elevation or obverse View of the clip when in position upon a le and frictionally retaining a paper or documents introduced beneath one clamping arm thereof;

Figure 3 is a reverse view of the same clip when in place upon the mentioned file or folder;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the clip and shows the latter as seen from the right in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a vertical section through the clip as taken on line 5--5 in Figure 2;

. Figure 6. is al transverse. section taken on. line E-B in Figure A4, .Showing details. in the, various. views, the. same reference nu- 'merals indicate the same or like parts. In modern business, it isA .common practice to vsecure papers and les together by various kinds .of clips. and fastening means, some simple forms made of vwire being the mostcommon, but in many leases the clips. are obviously merev makeshifts so as to serve temporarily and soon weaken only to allow 1papers to. fall oif the files which are sup.- .posed toreta-in them. On the .other hand, fas .teners that extend through a, le or folder and .,al'l papersrcontained, therein are inconvenient to \ha1f'1dle when papers are to be added to or withdrawn .tem Such .e le.

Upon; consideringy l.this problem, we have found ,ossibletp design xa special file or folder clip ch is. capable .of being permanently .secured upon the fileor folderl once the clip has been properly affixed therew, and serving to receive or release pepe-rs slipped under the arms thereof. as '.111 newl-bedentelr described. .J-Henea in the preetiee lef our invention, end

.referring .again to the drawing., the peper file or .fielder clip embed-ying. our invention is preferably tsta-m'pedlem sheet-metal to form a blank shown in Figure 1, in which the two clamping arms 1 and 8, are,- joinedby a narrow neck portionY 9, wlhile: the fr-.eef ends I8. and II: Yof the clamping :ar-ms Aare fsliglfitly.I bent out .of the plane of the elainpifrig-f .arms to-facilitate placing the clip on the file or folder I2 intended to be equipped therewith and holding papers and documents to be assembled with or upon the le, as indicated in broken lines I3, I3. The narrow or neck portion 9 may be preformed or bent at the time the clip is placed in position upon the documents or file to form the curved portion I4 which connects the two arms and envelope the upper edge I5 of the le or folder I 2. In order to facilitate not only the handling of the clip and placing it in position on the le, but especially the introduction of papers and documents beneath arms I and 3, the free ends It and II thereof are well rounded, while at the upper ends where the arms connect with neck portion 9, shoulders I5 and I'I of the arms are also rounded so that no sharp4 corners exist anywhere on the clip. Furthermore. both clamping arms 'I and 8 are preferably bowed outwardly. as especially shown in Figures 4 and 5, to facilitate holding a maximum number of sheets or documents between the same and folder I2. In order to stiffen the arms a little, they may also be transversely curvedv throughout, as shown in Figure 6, which also improves their grip on papers held thereby.

In the upper portion of clamping arm 'I is stamped an upwardly-directed tongue I8 which in use is bent at a right angle inwardly toward clamping arm Il and is-directed through a hole I9 in a corresponding position in said arm II, as indicated in broken lines at 20 in Figure 4. When the tongue is pressed through to enter the aperture I9 in the arm 8, it leaves an aperture 2| in the arm from which it extends, and, projecting through the aperture or hole I9, it is bent up into the position shown in Figures 4 and 5, to lie upon the outer face of arm 8 and thus clamp arms 'I and 8 in permanent association with file or folder I2 so that upper edge 22 thereof extends up into bent portion Ill of the clip, while tongue I8 extends through a perforation in the file which may either be previously punched or simply formed by pushing the tongue through said file at the time the clip is placed in position thereon.

' The upper portions 23 and 24 of arms 'I and 8 above the level of the tongue IS are, of course, merely clamped upon the file or folder I2, the

tongue having, as it were, a bridge connection 25 extending through the le and serving as a stop for the papers or documents I3, I3 which may be slid or pushed up under the clamping arms, either or both, as the case may be, up to the mentioned bridge portion or stop. For this reason, the papers may be replaced, removed altogether or have further papers added at any time to the rile, the papers being solely retained by friction. In order to ensure the eective action of the clamping arms, they are, of course, made sufficiently large and strong to provide a powerful clamping action. While various sizes of clips may be made, we have found that sheet metal varying from about 20 to 26 gauge serves quite well, and suggest a practical size of clip blank which may be made from a strip of such metal about ,la of an inch wide and about 41/2 inches long to result in an over-all length of about 2%, inches when the blank is bent double to form the clip. These dimensions merely refer to one size and we are naturally not limited thereto or to any other size of clip.

From the foregoing, it is evident that if the clip is made approximately of the size shown in the drawing, or in a size approaching that shown, it

will be very strong so that when it is fixed upon a file, it will be capable of receiving and frictionally holding a considerable number of papers and documents under either or both clamping arms and be associated with the case file in a conveniently-handled group which thus forms a file unit fromwhich papers may easily be detached or to which papers may as easily be added without the necessity of taking the clip apart or oif the le.

Manifestly, variations may be resorted to and parts and features may be modified or used without others within the scope of the appended claim.

Having now fully described our invention, we claim:

A clip for frictionally securing papers to a file back or the like, said clip comprising a single length' of spring metal bent between its ends to denetwo similar longitudinally elongated coextensively superimposed arms and a connecting portion, said arms having divergent free ends to facilitate entry of the file back and the papers therebetween, said arms being tensioned toward each other to frictionally engage papers positioned between one of said arms and the nie back, and a bendable prong on one of said arms near said connecting portion arranged to be passed through the le back and through an opening formed in the other of said arms near said connecting portion and bent along said other arm whereby said clip is fixed in position on the le back and said arms are held in frictional engagement with the file back and papers inserted between said le back and said one arm.

LOUIS G. MAYER. FOREST J. NEEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the vfile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 208,270 Schoals Sept. 24, 1878 7 1,127,481y Mays Feb. 9, 1915 1,242,620 J. L. Washburne Oct. 9, 1917 1,596,955 J. V. Washburne Aug. 24, 1926 1,815,774 Heard July 21, 1931 1,857,488 Weeks May 10, 1932 

